Trump On Upholding The Constitution: “I Don’t Know”

Trump Threatens To Ignore The Constitution

Since his wide-ranging NBC “Meet the Press” interview on May 4, 2025, President Donald Trump’s repeated “I don’t know” when asked whether he is required to uphold the Constitution has sparked alarm among legal experts, lawmakers and civil-rights advocates. Critics warn that his equivocation on due-process guarantees may undermine foundational checks on executive power, fuel partisan clashes in Congress and erode public confidence in the rule of law. Homeland Security and the Justice Department are now closely watching the fallout as courts consider challenges to Trump’s aggressive immigration and national-security policies.

The Interview Exchange

During the May 4 interview, moderator Kristen Welker pressed the president on whether citizens and non-citizens alike are entitled to due process under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Trump demurred: “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” he said, before adding that his “brilliant lawyers” would follow Supreme Court precedent. When pressed again on whether he believed he had a constitutional duty to uphold due process in his deportation agenda, he repeated, “I don’t know.”

Constitutional Duty vs. Executive Discretion

The president’s oath—mandated by Article II of the Constitution—commands him to “preserve, protect and defend” the nation’s supreme law. Likewise, the Fifth Amendment guarantees that “no person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” and the Fourteenth extends that protection against state actions. Legal scholars say Trump’s reluctance to affirm these duties breaks from centuries of precedent in which every commander-in-chief has publicly embraced constitutional constraints.

Reactions from Legal Experts and Lawmakers

“Frankly shocking,” declared constitutional law professor Mary McCord, who warned that Trump’s equivocation “challenges the very foundation of our checks and balances.” On Capitol Hill, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski deemed the president’s answer “dangerous,” while Democratic Representative Adam Schiff labeled it “an abdication of his sworn oath.” Even some conservative commentators have noted that defying due-process norms risks setting a precedent for future presidents to override judicial review.

Implications for Policy and Legal Battles

Trump’s hesitation comes as his administration faces multiple court cases over immigration directives, emergency declarations and executive orders. Judges may interpret his “I don’t know” stance as evidence of arbitrary policymaking, strengthening challenges to his most contentious measures. [6] Meanwhile, civil-rights groups are mobilizing lawsuits to enjoin expedited deportations and other actions that rely on robust constitutional protections.

Broader Impact on Democratic Norms

International observers have long viewed the presidential oath as a safeguard against authoritarian drift; a leader unwilling to affirm that duty raises alarm bells abroad about U.S. commitment to democratic governance. Domestically, public trust in government institutions—already strained by partisan polarization—is likely to suffer further as ordinary citizens wonder whether their rights truly matter to the chief executive.